Karveer police arrest four members of gang for stealing farmers’ electric agricultural pumps

Kolhapur: The Karveer police late on Thursday night busted a gang from Sangli and Kolhapur districts and arrested four of its members on the charge of stealing farmers' electric pumps from wells and riverbanks in Karveer and Panhala tehsils of Kolhapur district.The police also seized stolen material worth around Rs 15 lakh, including a 21-volt pump, a car, a two-wheeler and a cellphone from the gang members. "The arrested members admitted to stealing 21 agricultural motor pumps. Further investigation may uncover more such offences," an officer said.The officer identified the arrested men as Sunil Subhash Jadhav (28) of Limb Aalte (Tasgaon, Sangli), Suraj Balu Lokhande (26) of Rukdi (Hatkanangle) Suraj Sampat Gujle (29) and Harshad Vikas Patole (25) of Renavi (Khanapur in Sangli district).The action followed a tip-off received by inspector Kishore Shinde stating that the gang was heading to sell stolen pumps on the Vadange-Vadange Phata Road. "Acting on this information, assistant inspector Babasaheb Sarvade and his team set a trap and intercepted a white car. Three pumps were recovered during the search. During questioning, the suspects confessed to stealing pumps from the Koparde village area about 15 days earlier," the officer said.Inspector Shinde said the gang would scout fields along the Kumbhi and Kasari riverbanks during the day. "Around midnight, they would cut cables and steal the pumps, transporting them on two-wheelers to the main road before moving them further by car. Over the past three months, they admitted to stealing 21 agricultural pumps. We also recovered 18 pumps stored in a godown in Kirloskarwadi (Palus, Sangli)," Shinde said.According to the officer, the gang members sold pumps worth Rs 40,000-50,000 for as little as Rs 5,000-6,000, while scrapped some due to their weight. "All four work as daily wage workers. One of the accused, Sunil Jadhav, also has a sexual assault case registered against him," the inspector said.